Quadriga back again

In last week for its asian gypsy moth inspection, http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/04/saturday-round-up-and-spring-may-be-here.html  the Quadriga was back today on the Maersk transatlantic service (but two days behind schedule), having been to Montreal and back. The ship is a substitute for the regular ship in the rotation, Maersk Pembroke which is in drydock in Gdansk, Poland for maintenance.

Linehandlers make fast the headlines for Quadriga at Halterm early this morning.

Maersk has announced changes in the service, which was called TA4, but is now called Canada Atlantic Express. The TA4 name has been applied to a new transatlantic service from Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, and Antwerp to Newark and Savannah.

The other change is removal of CMA CGM Montreal. Not a surprise, since the ship's reliability has been questionable since its poor start in 2014, and it was reported sold last fall:
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/04/penang-prang.html and
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/11/cma-cgm-montreal-sold.html

Its replacement is a surprise however: Stadt Cadiz, which has been operating on Evergreen's Florida/ Dominican Republic / Venezuela service. The 35,878 grt, 41,2314 dwt ship has a capacity of 2758 TEU (500 refrigerated) and carries four cranes; one 45 tonne and three 35 tonne. Built in 2010 by Guangzhou in China, it is at least a modern and presumably efficient ship. Owned by T+H of Germany, it is registered in Antigua and Barbuda. It is the former Calandris, and if it is assigned to the PAE service for any length of time, it may well be renamed.

The routing of the Canada Atlantic Express service remains the same: Montreal, Halifax, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Antwerp and back to Montreal.

The ship was ready for the start of work at 0730 hrs, but will not be sailing until 2030 hrs tonight.

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TransPine - a rare visitor [REVISED]

The ships of Rederi AB TransAtlantic of Sweden and its predecessor company Gorthons were once frequent callers in Halifax for bunkers and voyage repairs. Specializing in carrying paper products, they used to call in ports all over eastern Canada. With the decline in the production of paper in Canada the fleet has shrunk to a mere shadow of its former self, and usually there is only one ship* on this side of the Atlantic.
 This morning TransPine crept in at dead slow speed and tied up at pier 27. It has recently brought a cargo from Europe to the US but had been lying idle off Florida for some time.

Built in 2002 as Finnpine by Stocznia Gdanska in Poland, it measured 16,831 grt, 14,100 dwt, and was lengthened by 23.2m in 2006 by Blohm+Voss, Hamburg, and now measures 20,851 grt, 18,855 dwt. Original owners B+N merged with Gorthons into Rederi AB TransAtlantic and the ship was renamed TransPine in 2008.

Classed as a RoRo ship, it has a stern ramp and it is also equipped with a side door and loads paper rolls by means of a conveyor and elevator system. The rolls are then positioned within the ship by forklift trucks.
In February 2008 it was damaged in a grounding off Pointe-au-Pic, QC and was drydocked in Méchins, QC for repairs which were completed by March 8.

Sister ship TransWood approaching Pointe-au-Pic in 2011 shows its working side, with the side door in the open position:

The buoy marks the shallows where TransPine grounded. A 14 ft tidal range and some strong currents make it a tricky place to work, particularly in windy conditions, since there are no tugs nearby.

In 2007 the same ship, but as Finnwood, is berthed and ready to load. The side door forms a shelter for the elevator loading platforms. TransWood now works exclusively in North Europe.

A third sister ship TransFighter has been working between Corner Brook and US east coast ports of Portland and Newport. In fact, at time of writing it is passing Halifax, well offshore, bound for Corner Brook. It is owned directly by RABT whereas the TransWood and TransPine are bareboat chartered from a UK subsidiary called Longitude Shipping UK Ltd.

Rederi AB Transatlantic (RABT) has two separate operating divisions, industrial shipping, known as TransAtlantic, and Viking Supply Ships The industrial shipping sector has been hard hit by the downturn in the world's forest products industry, and in 2014 divested 13 ships, and will drop at least two more in 2015, leaving only 19 ships. The Viking branch, which now accounts for most of RABT's profits operated 13 ships in 2014 (down from 14 in 2013). It was recently announced that the company will be renaming itself Viking Supply Ships, so industrial shipping and the TransAtlantic presence appears to be on the way out.
Shares in RABT are traded on the Swedish stock exchange, but the majority are owned by Kistefos AS, a Norwegian holding company owned by Christen Sveaas.


Footnote A fleetmate, named TransHawk ex Sandon, a conventional cargo ship, made an appearances in Canada in 2014 when it was in the St.Lawrence Seaway bound for Hamilton, Cleveland, Detroit and Thunder Bay. It is presently in the Lanoraie anchorage near Montreal, with agents shown as Fednav, and looks to be heading up the Seaway again this year.
RABT announced that it would be divesting its two bulk carriers this year and this ship may be one of them.

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Skogafoss and other Icelandic matters

Today's arrival and departure of Reykjafoss was the only activity at Halterm all weekend. This is no doubt due to ships working to avoid Easter overtime in other ports adjusted their timetables accordingly. Also the weekly Maersk ship will not be arriving until tomorrow, but that is another story.

Reykjafoss is the fifth ship to carry that name for H/f Eimskipafeleg Islands (The Icelandic Steamship Co) better known simply as Eimskip.

Reykjafoss still carried the "RS" insignia of previous managers.

Built in 1999 by Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Cassens  GmbH in Emden, the ship has been owned since 2014 by Romy AS and managed by Myklebusthaug Management AS of Fonnes, Norway, under the Gibraltar flag. It was previously owned by Hermann Buss of Leer, Germany, and managed by Reider Shipping BV of the Netherlands. It has carried the names Westersingel to 2000, then Express Italia, X-press Italia,  01: Westersingel, 03: MSC Bosphorus, 04: Western, 05: Westersingel, becoming Reykjafoss in 2005.
It has two 40 tonne cranes and a capacity of 730 TEU on 7541 grt, 8450 dwt.

See previous posts:  http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/05/reykjafoss-aground.html

A previous Reykjafoss [number 4 with the name] operated from 1984 to 1999 and was also a regular caller in Halifax.

Reykjafoss [iv] in Boston, once one of its regular stops.

It was built in 1979 by J.J.Sietas of Nuenefelde, Germany as Regulus. In 1984 it was chartered to Eimskip and at the same time was converted from a general cargo ship to carry containers in fixed cell guides in the hold and on deck. It retained its two 35 tonne cranes and had a capacity of 308 TEU. The ship measured 3726 grt, / 5788 dwt as built, and  4226 grt / 4070 dwt as converted.
When the charter ended in 1999 it was sold and renamed Carnation, then in 2011 Span Asia 3 under the Philippine flag, and is still trading.

Eimskip has owned or charted some 80 plus ships its founding in 1915. Some of them were real beauties (in my opinion). The sisters Bruarfoss and Selfoss, were particularly attractive.

 The lovely Bruarfoss was not built to carry containers, but managed to do so anyway.

Built in 1960 by Aalborg Werft A/S, Denmark, the 3220 grt ship called in Halifax regularly until September 16, 1980 when it collided with the Panamanian flag John M. off Lockeport, NS.

John M. , with a Bruarfoss shaped hole in its side. It reached Halifax September 18, 1980 where it was drydocked for repairs and sailed November 16, 1980. [see footnote]

Bruarfoss was declared a constructive total loss, Eimskip took the insurance money and the ship was sold to Panamanian owners. It grounded off Brownsville, TX, November 2, 1982. It was resold in 1984 and renamed Horizon and arrived in Brownsville from Puerto Cortes ostensibly for scrap, but was again resold. As William Reefer in 1986, then Triton Trader later the same year, under Honduran flag.
On December 15, 1987 it was abandoned 300 miles SE of Halifax on a voyage from New London, CT to Ashdod, when its cargo of particle board shifted in a storm. The 13 crew members were taken off the Cyprus flag Nordwind and landed in Halifax.
By the time the tug Irving Miami reached the ship, it was 567 n.mi. SE of Halifax and it took 30 hours for a boarding party to get a line aboard. Despite a 30 degree list, the ship reached Shelburne, in tow, December 24.  A lengthy repair process ensued, and the ship remained in Shelburne until 1988 when it was again sold. This time renamed Global Trader, the ship was arrested and sold once more in 1989. Renamed Triton Trader it moved, possibly under its own power, to Point Edward, NS but was again laid up. A Philippine watchman hired to guard the ship died from carbon monoxide poisoning and hypothermia from a charcoal fire he was using to keep warm
On April 26, 1990 the ship left Sydney harbour in tow of Pacific Rescuer and arrived in Alang, India August 18, 1990 for breaking up.

Footnote:
John M. was built in 1970 by Lindenau, Kiel as John M. Rehder for Carsten Rehder. It measured 3999 grt, 6333 dwt, and carried one 15- 25 ton and four 5 ton derricks. It had three holds, and was fortunately holed in the smallest one, number one, which was well protected by secure bulkheads. Its pulpwood cargo was also helpful in keeping the ship afloat.
Following the collision it was unloaded at pier 24 in Halifax, drydocked from September 30 to November 10, reloaded and sailed. In 1983 it was renamed Milas and in 1985 Neapolis and was broken up in Perama in December 1985.

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HMC Iroquois and Athabaskan (correction Algonquin) , the final indignity (almost)

It was announced that HMCS Athabaskan Algonquin* and Iroquois will be paid off May 1. Neither ship will be given a traditional sail past, nor the opportunity to fly a paying off pennant. Instead the ships will remain firmly moored to their piers. There will be a parade and some other ceremonies shoreside.

This is certainly an indignity and is not in the tradition of the RCN, and has offended not just traditionalists, but many who have served on the ships. Saying goodbye to a a ship that has served well is important. Once paid off the ship becomes an inanimate object awaiting its final indignity, which usually involves towing it away to a scrap yard. Before that happens however, sailors believe that, like the crew, the ship must be paid off properly, parading (in the form of a sail past) and saluting the Admiral and other worthy dignitaries.In taking the salute, the Admiral on behalf of the entire navy shows respect for the ship and its contribution.

HMCS Fraser flying a paying off pennant that extended well beyond the ship's stern, glides up and down Halifax harbour accompanied by a Sea King helicopter and the fireboat, had a proper paying off sail past October 5, 1994.

Her decks crowded with former crew and families, Nipigon pays off July 3, 1998.

It would be a shame if we were not to see this ceremony again in Halifax. Perhaps there is unwillingness to draw attention to the fact that we will have a destroyerless navy once Athabaskan  Algonquin* and Iroquois are gone.

Halifax has seen a lot of paying off ceremonies, all to few of which I was able to witness,  but I have seen most of the tow outs to scrappers, and I have assembled a Tugfax post on the tugs that were given that grim task. It will appear in a few days.

I stand corrected: It is Algonquin on the west coast that s being decommissioned - not Athabaskan. In fact that ship will be participating in Caribbean Ops, but is being kept going with cannibalized parts from Iroquois.

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Thorco in Pictou

The general cargo ship Thorco Asia appeared to be loaded and just about ready to sail this afternoon in Pictou.Owned in Germany (but registered in Antigua and Barbuda) and under the technical management of Marship Management GmbH of Haren (Ems), the ship operates commercially for Thorco A/S of Denmark. http://www.thorcoshipping.com/

The ship seems to have had an  identity crisis in 2012, the year it was built by Jiangsu Yangzi Changbo, China. Originally to be named Thorco Asia it was renamed Victory Scan then Surenes in a matter of months. It then re-assumed the name Thorco Asia in 2014. The ship measures 6351 grt, 9737 dwt, has two 60 tonne cranes (combined for 160 tonnes) and can carry  468 TEU. Its holds are fitted for grain and are ventilated, making it ideal to load paper pulp, which it did in Pictou.

Paper pulp is manufactures by Northern Pulp, just across the harbour at Abercrombie Point and is widely exported unlike the stench and waste from the mill itself which are concentrated locally in unpleasant and probably toxic quantities. The mill is under orders to clean up its odorific act with scrubbers, which are to be in place by May. The Province of Nova Scotia has just announced a multi-year program to clean up the mill's waste ponds at a cost exceeding $50 mn. The desecration of Boat Harbour with the lagoons has been a toxic stew, not to mention an eyesore and embarrassment since the mill was first established by Scott Paper in the 1960s.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/northern-pulp-to-shut-boat-harbour-waste-treatment-plant-in-2020-1.3037280

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Regal Princess [2] to skip

The cruise ship Regal Princess will not be opening the cruise season in Halifax April 19 as planned. This was to be the ship's inaugural call in the port, but it has been cancelled due to en route weather. Built in 2014 by Fincantieri, Monfacone, Italy the 142,714 grt ship has a capacity of 3,560 passengers and 1,346 crew. Owned by Carnival PLC, it operates under the Princess Cruises Lines brand.

It is the second ship of the name. The first Regal Princess, built by the same shipyard in 1991 was a much smaller ship of 69,845 grt, and called here over a period of several years

The first Regal Princess sailing from Halifax in September 2003. On the previous cruise, ending in New York Sept 4 up to 217 people came down with Norwalk virus.

The ship was originally ordered by Sitmar, explaining its very un-P+O-like appearance. P+O acquired the ship for its Princess Cruise Line in 1992 and it operated in various parts of the world, including Alaska, and was given major refits in 2000 and another in 2007. The latter was in Singapore, after which the ship was renamed Pacific Dawn and assigned to P+O Cruises Australia, where it has worked ever since, and carries 2,020 passengers.

 

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Genmar George T. for bunkers - and a digression into Japanese shipbuilding

En route to Whiffen Head, NL for a cargo of crude oil, the tanker Genmar George T. put in to Halifax this afternoon for bunkers. The last port given for the ship was Dalian, China in February, - which would be a long and slow ballast voyage. It is likely that it loaded crude in the mid-east or Africa for delivery somewhere en route before arriving here. Since the ship was in the far east so recently it is also likely that it was inspected for asain gypsy moth before it sailed this evening.

The ship's truncated bow indicates that it can load or unload via offshore floating mono-buoy.

The ship was built by Universal Shipbuilding Corp* (former Nippon Kokan KK, shipyard), Tsu, Japan in 2007 and is operated by General Maritime of New York under the Marshall Islands flag. It s tonnages are listed as 79,236 gross, 149,847 deadweight.

* Universal Shipbuilding Corp may not sound familiar, nor sound like the name of a Japanese shipyard. In the face of intense competition with South Korea, then China, there have been a series of mergers in the Japanese shipbuilding industry, and many old names have disappeared and new ones have emerged. Therefore ships built in Japan between about 1995 and  2013 may be attributed in certain sources, to shipyards that, at least in name, did not exist when the ships were built. This a bit of a pet peave of mine, where these sources (and some should know better) use the current name of the yard when they should use the name of the yard at the time of construction.

Universal Shipbuilding Corp was in existence as a name only from 2002 to 2013. It was the result of a the consolidation (read merger) of Hitachi Zosen's shipbuilding interests with those of NKK (Nippon Kokan).

In 2013 Universal and IHI Marine United (the merger of Ishikawa Harima and Sumitomo)  merged to form Japan Marine United (JMU).  An excellent graphic shows this detailed history back to the founding companies in the history section of JMU'S website. http://www.jmuc.co.jp/en/ 

Further interesting (and perhaps surprising reading) reading is the history of Hitachi Zosen Shipbuilding, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitachi_Zosen_Corporation 

And more on Nippon-Kokan Kabushiki Kaisha.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/nkk.htm and: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/nkk-corporation-history/

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